There were just four sales on Lake Winnipesaukee in December of 2013 compared to fifteen in December, 2012. We might not be closing off the year with a big bang, but four sales is still pretty a good count. The average sales price on Winni came in at $864,750 with two island and two mainland sales.

The largest sale for the month was at 87 Leeward Shores in Moultonborough. This property consists of a contemporary style main home plus a guest house combining for a total of 6,304 square feet of living space. Custom built in 2002, the open concept main house has three bedroom suites , five baths, an outstanding great room with soaring ceilings and a wall of glass to take in the views. There's a lower level entertaining space with second kitchen, exercise room, and walkout access to the patio areas. The separate 1,232 square foot guest house has one bedroom, its own great room, and one and a half baths. The house sits at the water's edge on a .48 acre lot with 98' of frontage providing panoramic views. This home was offered originally at $1.795 million in August of 2012 and was on the market for 546 days before finding a buyer at $1.5 million. The current assessed value is $1.892 million.

For the year, there were 134 sales at an average of $947,936. That just surpasses the 130 sales we had last year but fell short of the $1.017 million average sales price for 2012. Still, I'd say it was a pretty good year. The bulk of the transactions for the year came in below the million dollar mark. There were 39 sales between one and two million dollars and six between three and four million. And, there were just two sales over three million with the largest sale in Meredith at 37 Spindle Point for $3.6 million.

By town, Moultonborough lead the way as far as the total number of sales with 33 at an average price of $1.16 million. Alton followed with 24 sales at an average of $808,419, Gilford with 23 at $902,859, Meredith with 23 at $932,752, Tuftonboro with 11 at $794,173, Wolfeboro with 11 at $1.161 million, Laconia with 8 at $617,442, and Center Harbor with one sale that went for $640,000.

There was just one sale on Winnisquam in December and that was at 18 Hill Road in Tilton. This sale could be considered this year's teachable moment in real estate. This property consists of a 1940's vintage, year round, lake cottage with 2,328 square feet of living space, four bedrooms, and two baths. It sits on a .52 acre lot with 52 feet of sandy frontage and a 40' L shaped dock for all the toys. This home was originally listed back in 2007 as a for-sale-by-owner at $529,900. After listing it four times by himself for a total of 1,001 days, he listed with a broker this year at $425,000, subsequently reduced the price to $350,000, and then sold for $335,000 after 65 days on the market. It is currently assessed at $360,000. It's amazing how much time the right asking price can save.

For the year there were 18 sales on Winnisquam at an average of $476,583. That compares to 16 transactions in 2012 with an average sales price of $502,125. The largest sale for the year was at 35 Lakeside Drive in Sanbornton which was offered for the first time by the original owner and was in pristine condition. Built in 2003, this contemporary home has 3,260 square feet of living space, four bedrooms, three and a half baths, hardwood floors with radiant heat, granite, tile, beautiful woodwork, a finished walk out basement, and fantastic views across the broadest part of the lake. The house sits on a quarter acre, nicely landscaped lot with 100' of frontage and dock. This home was offered originally at $889,000, was reduced to $830,000, and sold for $793,000 after 194 days on the market. It is currently assessed at $657,600.

There was one sale on Squam in December and it was a very charming one. Located at 88 Mountain Ivy Road in Holderness is a 1906 vintage lake home which has been restored from top to bottom but has retained many of its original details. It has three bedrooms, three baths, a stunning arts and crafts custom kitchen, a great room with fireplace and beamed ceilings, first floor media room, a private waterfront office, sauna, wine cellar, exercise room, and the requisite wrap-around porch. The house sits on a 1.1 acre lot with 110' of Big Squam frontage. It was offered at $1.75 million and sold for full price after just 60 days on the market. It's that nice...

There were a total of 15 sales on Squam in 2013 at an average of $1.348 million compared to just six sales in 2012 at an average of $3.15 million. The largest sale for 2013 is located at 40 Bean Cove Road in Moultonborough and is a 5,000 square foot Adirondack built in 2003 on a 10.7 acre lot with 1,035 feet of frontage. This home is literally just a few steps to the water and situated on a peninsula that affords amazing views of Moultonborough Bay. The property was listed at $7.5 million and sold for a cool $7 million after five days on the market. The $41,263 tax bill equated to about a $4.8 million assessed value.

I expect that 2014 will be another successful year on the lakes as new generations of buyers find their little piece of paradise here in the Lakes Region of NH.

Please feel free to visit www.lakesregionhome.com to learn more about the Lakes Region real estate market and comment on this article and others. Data was compiled using the Northern New England Real Estate MLS System as of 1/8/14. Roy Sanborn is a realtor at Four Seasons Sotheby's International Realty and can be reached at 603-455-0335.